Ceramides Profile Identifies Patients with More Advanced Stages of Colorectal Cancer

Much attention is paid to different sphingolipid pathways because of their possible use in diagnostics and treatment. However, the activity status and significance of ceramide pathways in colorectal cancer are still unclear. We analyzed colorectal cancer patients to evaluate sphingolipid profiles in the blood, colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues, and healthy surrounding colorectal tissues of the same patient, simultaneously, using liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Furthermore, we measured protein expression of de novo ceramide synthesis enzymes and mitochondrial markers in tissues using western blot. We confirmed the different sphingolipid contents in colorectal cancer tissue compared to healthy surrounding tissues. Furthermore, we showed changed amounts of several ceramides in more advanced colorectal cancer tissue and found a prominently higher circulating level of several of them. Moreover, we observed a relationship between the amounts of some ceramide species in colorectal cancer tissue and plasma depending on the stage of colorectal cancer according to TNM (tumors, nodes, metastasis) classification. We think that the combined measurement of several ceramide concentrations in plasma can help distinguish early-stage lesions from advanced colorectal cancer and can help produce a screening test to detect early colorectal cancer.